Spreading the Broadband Revolution

SPREADING THE BROADBAND REVOLUTION
[SOURCE: New York Times 10/21, AUTHOR: Former-FCC Chairman Bill Kennard]
[Commentary] Any serious discussion of the future of the Internet should start with a basic fact: broadband is transforming every facet of communications, from entertainment and telephone services to delivery of vital services like health care. But this also means that the digital divide, once defined as the chasm separating those who had access to narrowband dial-up Internet and those who didn't, has become a broadband digital divide. The nation should have a full-scale policy debate about the direction of the broadband Internet, especially about how to make sure that all Americans get access to broadband connections. As chairman of the F.C.C., I put into place many policies to bridge the narrowband digital divide. The broadband revolution poses similar challenges for policymakers. America should be a world leader in broadband technology and deployment, and we must ensure that no group or region in America is denied access to high-speed connections. We are falling short in both areas. Congress could significantly expand broadband access by: 1) reforming the universal service fund to ensure that broadband reaches into rural, low income and other underserved communities and 2) putting all broadband providers on a level playing field. Congress punted on both of these issues this year in large part because of the polarizing Net Neutrality debate. Policymakers should rise above the Net Neutrality debate and focus on what America truly requires from the Internet: getting affordable broadband access to those who need it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/21/opinion/21kennard.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
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